I am not a professional instructor. I have a day job that pays my bills. But I run a monthly carbine match and a monthly practice/drills night. We have been averaging 15-20 shooters on the line at drills for the last year or two that we've been doing them.
I enjoy running the drills for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I have found that my own shooting has improved tremendously from watching and helping other shooters. But there is also a great satisfaction in watching other shooters improve over time and seeing them come out month to month and improve.
One of the things I've noticed also is the mindset shift. I'm not talking about a "fighting" mindset as that's outside my realm of expertise to try to impart, but a mindset in terms of gear and guns. Many guys start out coming out with 10 tons of web gear on, asking about shooting 3-4 different rifles in one night, etc. Seeing them change to a more streamlined setup, sticking to one platform month to month, and seeing them focus on the "right" things (fundamentals, manipulations, etc.) and ignoring the aesthetic and collectors aspects is something I really take pride in.
Some recent threads here have seen some newer posters get upset that their opinions haven't been respected. They get offended when others question their training and experience based on some of the things they post, and often seem kind of surprised that the other posters can so easily spot that inexperience through a couple of simple posts on an internet forum. That lack of a mindset shift is how the rest of us can tell. You see them focusing on coloring their logos with crayons instead of asking about what sling is best for transitions to pistol. You see them worrying about color-matched uppers and lowers instead of asking about what chest rigs work best in training classes. The list goes on and on.
Not to drag out an old cliche, but it's a training issue. Those of us that are around a large sample size of shooters over a long period of time and see that mindset shift take place in those shooters can spot it from a mile away. I have shooters that asked me on their first night out if Magpul's ranger green matched Vltors, that are now asking me questions about how my sling setup interfaces with my chest rig. That's a mindset shift. They're getting out and using the guns and gear and they don't care anymore about whether their gun is three shades of green, they just want it to work in the most efficient way possible for their intended use.
no real point to this thread I guess. I know I was bitching about the mindset of many of our shooters last week and just wanted to post something more positiv. We had a really good drills night this week and we saw that mindset shift occur in several of the new guys in just that 3 hour time period. It re-energized me, and frankly I'm proud of all of our guys.
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Originally Posted by MarshallDodge
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